VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The No. 16 Berry College Vikings volleyball team took down the Christopher Newport University Captains 3-1 to win the Virginia Wesleyan Regional and punch their ticket to the Elite 8 of the NCAA D3 Championship for the second time in school history on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings took control early in the first set as they went on an 8-2 run led by two kills each from Lura Underwood, Cali Armstead and Keira Kruk to take a 13-8 lead. The Captains would rally to tie it 17-17 but the Vikings pulled back out to a 22-20 advantage with another big kill from Kruk set up by Ava Brovet. The Captains would once again tie it but the Vikings closed the set with back to back kills from Armstead and Underwood to win 25-23 and take a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings continued their momentum into the second set as they raced out to a 10-5 lead with some great serving by Hurt and Underwood with a pair of aces. The Captains fought to keep the set close as they closed within 15-13. The Vikings then completely took over as they went on an 8-1 run finished off with back to back kills from Underwood and Kruk to take a 23-14 lead. The Viking then finished the set off with a big block from Brovet and Blakely Barnes to win 25-15 and take a 2-0 lead.
The Vikings looked to close out the game in the third set but this time the Captains showed life as they went on a 7-1 run to take a 13-7 lead. The Vikings looked for an answer but it was all Captains as they stretched their advantage to 18-9. The Vikings would rally to get within 21-14 on another kill by Whitehead but that's as close as they got as the Captains took the set 25-14 and made it 2-1.
The Captains looked to continue their momentum into the fourth set but the Vikings were having none of it as they took an early lead before going on a 7-1 run with two more kills from Whitehead and Armstead to take a commanding 15-8 lead. With their season on the line the Captains looked for an answer as they cut the Vikings lead to 16-12. The Vikings weren't interested in any comebacks as they stretched their lead to 22-14 with great serving along with great defense by Andrea Hurt. Ailee England then delivered the final blow with a perfectly placed serve on the Captains backline to give the Vikings a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 win to win their NCAA Regional.
The Vikings were led by Whitehead with 16 kills, Barnes with five blocks, Brovet with 43 assists and Hurt with 18 digs.
With the win the Vikings advance to the Elite 8 of the NCAA D3 Championships for the second time in program history. The Vikings will likely be the number eight seed and will play in Bloomington, IL beginning on December 3rd at a time to be determined.